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Welcome
Welcome to Faithful and True
of Jacksonville, Inc.. Allow us to congratulate you on making the effort to reclaim sexual wholeness &
putrity. You are not alone. We have men from all walks of life attending meetings who have struggled with lust, anger and loneliness. We do not offer a magic pill or spiritual deliverance. We do offer our experience, strength & hope. Recovery is a total change in the way we go about our lives on a daily basis. This is a new journey that can take you to higher levels of intimacy with God, your family & your community. There are no guarantees in a support group. But from personal testimony of those who participate, they get as much our of the group as they are willing to put in. In other words if you just attend a meeting once in a while and do very little towards your own growth, then you will see very little change. If you want to maximize the opportunity before you, them you may wish to follow the suggestions of the more experienced men in our group:
Meetings: Attend as many meetings as possible. Try to make one meeting a top priority in your week. Don't be tempted to let work, family, or recreation time stand between you and your commitment to regain wholeness. Recovery is hard work, but your life is at stake and you may have to adjust your thinking as to what is best for you. Remember, your best thing got you into trouble, so you may not be making a lot of wise decisions about what is right. What you are doing is replacing bad behavior with positive activity. You may miss some family time or your favorite tv show, but you will be better off in the long run. While at the meetings,
listen to what is working or not working for others. It is appropriate to ask questions before & after the meeting.
Phone List: Take advantage of the phones list and call someone on that list
every day. Just check in and say how you are feeling. Loneliness is Satan's biggest ally and our worst enemy in recovery. We cannot defeat Satan by ourselves, but a group of prayer buddies who are teamed with you can help you get victory over the agony you are feeling. Building
relationships in the group can seem frightful at first, but will be a bog step towards intimacy with others. One expert said, "I never met a man in recovery that did it alone".
Temporary Sponsor: Find someone in the group that can mentor you through the recovery process. This should be someone in the meeting you
resonate with. You can find a more permanent sponsor in future weeks.
Warning: A wife, family member or non-addictive person may hold you accountable, but they do not make good sponsors. Only an addict can understand wht you are going through & suggest a course of action.
Workbook: For most men their Workbook is the first periodical they have seen that has dealt directly with their sexual sin. It may not be your only resource, but we recommend that you read & write in it daily. You may wish to share some of your discoveries with your sponsor, Pastor, Christian Counselor or the Group. It is said: "The Bible has the answers to the problem of sexual addiction, but
recovery asks the tough questions!".
Therapy & Intensive Workshops: Most of the men have a relationship with
a licensed therapist. If you do not have one, a list will be provided for you. You may hear of
Intensive Workshops. It would accelerate your recovery if you attended an out of town 5 day workshop. Every man that returned from a workshop has proclaimed that he wished he had attended one sooner! Workshop brochures are available after the meeting.
Honesty & Safety: During the meeting, we aske all men to speak the truth about their feelings and be accountable for their sexual behavior throughout the past week. No man is going to leave the room covering his ears after hearing your story. Intimacy begins with honesty. Trust and respect comes with a new sense of openness. Months from now, family members will be looking for deeds, not just words. When they see you as an open & intimate man, they may have motivation to give you another chance.
Note: We ask that during the meetings, graphic descriptions not be discussed. Though the meetings contents are
confidential, any new revelation of unreported criminal behavior involving minors may be reported to the authorities. Also, when other men appear to have committed a greater sin than you,
don't be fooled. It is easy to fall into the trap that everyone in the room is
more sinful than you. Remember, their earthly consequences might be greater than yours. Therefore, we are all sexual sinners, accountable to our Heavenly Father. The scripture says that we are accountable for
OUR SINS not someone else's. We can find serenity when we admit our failure ro reach His standard. We hope this letter will be helpful to you...so you can be
Faithful & True!
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